ringles - Network

#WritersCoffeeClub 16. How often do you raise questions in your writing without intention to answer them?Depends on the story.On a technical...

#WritersCoffeeClub 16. How often do you raise questions in your writing without intention to answer them?

Depends on the story.

On a technical level... you don't have to explain *everything*. I try to have *an* explanation for worldbuilding elements, but they don't all go on the page.

On the level of themes... some stories lend themselves to unknowables, unanswerables. But I like characters that muddle through with determination and thought. Unless it's a horror story...

#WordWeavers 16. SC POV: What do you do to calm down when you’re angry?Manayka: I'm a man. I can't afford to get angry - or, at...

#WordWeavers 16. SC POV: What do you do to calm down when you’re angry?

Manayka: I'm a man. I can't afford to get angry - or, at least, there are few socially acceptable ways to express it. I have to keep a tight rein on my behavior and demeanor.

I'll usually turn it to fuel for getting things done. If that's not an option, I'll go off and study something - new publications, reference material, whatever. Learning is my passion.

I don't know what I'll do when my clan marries me off...

#SciFi

#ScribesAndMakers 15. How's your creativity going? Do you need help? Would you like to share a paragraph or image for critique?Eh,...

#ScribesAndMakers 15. How's your creativity going? Do you need help? Would you like to share a paragraph or image for critique?

Eh, it's going okay. Lots of time drains in the last couple weeks, hoping for a few extended writing sessions soon.

#WordWeavers 15: How emotionally intelligent is your MC?In some ways, very much. From the perspective of manipulating people, he's quite...

#WordWeavers 15: How emotionally intelligent is your MC?

In some ways, very much. From the perspective of manipulating people, he's quite good. Thus, also, he's pretty effective at grasping people's motivations.

Understanding his *own* emotions is maybe a bit trickier. And given that he's in a wildly alternate timeline, his expectations and deductions are continually challenged.

#WritersCoffeeClub 15: What 'standards' do you take for granted?Well, it's hard to riff on tropes and genre conventions if your...

#WritersCoffeeClub 15: What 'standards' do you take for granted?

Well, it's hard to riff on tropes and genre conventions if your readers aren't familiar with them. So that's kinda necessary.

But overall, writing is a pursuit where standards are particularly flexible. I've probably seen every writing 'rule' broken - productively - at some point or another.

#WordWeavers 14. What’s your favorite format to release your work (ebook, paperback, audiobook, etc.)? Why?I like physical books....

#WordWeavers 14. What’s your favorite format to release your work (ebook, paperback, audiobook, etc.)? Why?

I like physical books. Especially when there are footnotes. Easier to look at a few different pages at once.

I actually prefer paperbacks; just more portable. A big thick book is nice in a library, but harder to carry.

#WritersCoffeeClub 14. What is your favorite emotion to write?Not a one-word emotion, but... the satifaction of out-thinking an opponent. Or...

#WritersCoffeeClub 14. What is your favorite emotion to write?

Not a one-word emotion, but... the satifaction of out-thinking an opponent. Or of coming up with a clever, unexpected solution to a problem.

All the other emotions are cool, too. It's just fun when I manage to come up with those neat tricks or crazy moves that pay off.

#ScribesAndMakers 14. Self-promotion day. Show us what you're proud of. Let's boost...

#ScribesAndMakers 14. Self-promotion day. Show us what you're proud of. Let's boost away.

https://bookstodon.com/@ringles/114840520126031074

I'm *mortified*, promoting my own work. I mean, I'm actually proud of it! But I don't like bragging, so praising my own stuff grates on my soul.

The most I can generally bring myself to say is, "Hey, you might want to check this out. The reviews are positive..."

https://books2read.com/b/mdx1Jl
Amazon: https://t.co/0xpU28EWiE
Sample chapters: https://t.co/pvZX0lxq2v

#WordWeavers 12. Are you comfortable promoting your own work?I'm *mortified*, promoting my own work. I mean, I'm actually proud of...

#WordWeavers 12. Are you comfortable promoting your own work?

I'm *mortified*, promoting my own work. I mean, I'm actually proud of it! But I don't like bragging, so praising my own stuff grates on my soul.

The most I can generally bring myself to say is, "Hey, you might want to check this out. The reviews are positive..."

🤦‍♂️

#WritersCoffeeClub 12. How much do themes of transience or permanence appear in your work?If the timescale makes that relevant, sure. It...

#WritersCoffeeClub 12. How much do themes of transience or permanence appear in your work?

If the timescale makes that relevant, sure.

It comes up a fair amount in my current WIP because, y'know, alternate history. Almost everything human-related has changed. But the stars are still in same places the sky, not a lot of mountains or rivers have moved, the moon still points the same face to Earth...

#ScienceFiction #IndieBooks #SciFi

#ScribesAndMakers 12. If you could visit a fictional world, would you? If so, which one?One of the ones with benevolent nanotech that can...

#ScribesAndMakers 12. If you could visit a fictional world, would you? If so, which one?

One of the ones with benevolent nanotech that can repair and maintain a body in perfect health indefinitely? Sure!

And I'd make sure to get the contagious version for the trip home.

#ScribesAndMakers 11. Is art necessary, and why? Credit: @artofgoulwenr@mastodon.artNot necessary, just inevitable. There was art before...

#ScribesAndMakers 11. Is art necessary, and why? Credit: @artofgoulwenr@mastodon.art

Not necessary, just inevitable. There was art before humans appeared.

Such beings as humans are *gonna* make art. They'll put in effort to ensure something is done beautifully. Not everyone, sadly - but most, I think.

#ScribesAndMakers 10. How difficult would it be to continue your creative activity(ies) if you couldn't have your favo(u)rite beverage?I...

#ScribesAndMakers 10. How difficult would it be to continue your creative activity(ies) if you couldn't have your favo(u)rite beverage?

I would probably write darker, angrier stories if I couldn't have my morning tea.

#WritersCoffeeClub 10. Describe a way you've developed a character.I tend to create characters functionally. As in, what purpose do they...

#WritersCoffeeClub 10. Describe a way you've developed a character.

I tend to create characters functionally. As in, what purpose do they serve in the story? So I know roughly how they think and what motivates them, from the start.

Of course, they have to be developed and made into actual *people* instead of a list of characteristics/ingredients. That happens in the writing; little inspirations, plus lots of perspiration, pondering the details.

#WordWeavers 10. You have to leave Earth, and you can only immigrate to one of the settings you’ve written. Where do you go?Well,...

#WordWeavers 10. You have to leave Earth, and you can only immigrate to one of the settings you’ve written. Where do you go?

Well, there's this story I abandoned where there was runaway AGI. Except the way it was designed involved being *really good* at translation, so it didn't take requests and commands literally. It tried hard to understand what the person was *really* asking for, and accomplish *that*.

#WordWeavers 9. Who is your most powerful character? In what way?In terms of on-page? 'Count' Yarona, certainly. He's Emperor...

#WordWeavers 9. Who is your most powerful character? In what way?

In terms of on-page? 'Count' Yarona, certainly. He's Emperor Consort to the Empress. (Males can't reign, so Jim translates his title as 'Emperor Consort,' inspired by Imperial China.)

No *direct* political authority, but multiple lines of 'soft power.' Plus, he's got ambitions. Jim coming to his attention is a mixed blessing.

#ScribesAndMakers 9. Do you sometimes write/create with friends and/or family, or do you prefer to do it all by yourself?None of my family...

#ScribesAndMakers 9. Do you sometimes write/create with friends and/or family, or do you prefer to do it all by yourself?

None of my family are into story writing, sadly. My wife's more of an essayist/blogger.

The closest to writing that I do with my family is probably something like JackBox games. But I tell ya, they are *funny* MF'ers.

#WritersCoffeeClub 9. Are there "normal" words you avoid using? Why?I don't think I avoid any words. I love vocabulary....

#WritersCoffeeClub 9. Are there "normal" words you avoid using? Why?

I don't think I avoid any words. I love vocabulary. Different ones are appropriate in different works, I suppose.

And, of course, some problematic words have to be used carefully, in the appropriate context.

Maybe one or two of those latter words I avoid unless they're *really* what's needed for the story.

#WritersCoffeeClub 8. Have you ever received feedback on a piece that completely missed the mark?Well, there *was* that one reader who...

#WritersCoffeeClub 8. Have you ever received feedback on a piece that completely missed the mark?

Well, there *was* that one reader who complained that a story told as a bunch of short monologues was... told as a bunch of short monologues. 🤦‍♂️

#ScribesAndMakers 8. If you have had to give up your creative activities for a while, how do you motivate yourself to get back in?Usually...

#ScribesAndMakers 8. If you have had to give up your creative activities for a while, how do you motivate yourself to get back in?

Usually not a problem. If I'm forced to take time off (e.g. a trip, a family emergency, whatever), I've usually had a couple of ideas or snippets come to me, which I'm eager to explore.

Sometimes you can't solve a problem unless you stop thinking about it for a while.